War in Disguise
by Swim-4-evr
Summary: The Federation is plunged into a centuries old war agianst enemies hundreds of times more powerful than them without knowing it!Can their new allies help them?Or will this be the end of the Federation? Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

_Note: I don't own any characters or ideas other than the ones I made up._

_**Chapter 1**_

Commander Will Riker stared at the blank view screen, his thoughts wandering, for lack of anything better to do. He noticed that nearly everyone on the bridge, with the exception of the few science officers, looked equally as bored as he felt. Mapping missions were simply not exciting, especially when very few of the planets could support life in the first place, the sun having exploded years before. He envied the Captain who was probably in the holodeck, horseback riding in the France country side. Will had given up on actually receiving any interesting news on the solar system long ago.

"Commander," Data said from his station at con," sensors are picking up a crash site on the third M class planet." That caught Will's attention.

"Can you identify it?" he asked.

"It seems to be a Federation ship… Galaxy class," Data responded as the information appeared on his console.

"What the hell is it doing out here?" he whispered and then as a sort of after thought," Are there any survivors?"

"Unknown sir," Data said simply," the atmosphere is interfering with our sensors." Will tapped his combadge.

"Bridge to Captain Picard," he said.

"Picard here," he heard his Captain sigh. Will had a moments feeling of guilt, he knew this was the first break the Captain had had in a long time, but there could be people still alive down there and they needed to get to them.

"We've discovered a Federation ship wreckage on one of the planets. Permission to send an away team down…"

"Granted," Picard responded immediately, no longer sounding disappointed," But arm yourselves and keep the number of people beaming down to a minimal. We don't know what could be down there." Will nodded to Data and Deanna Troy after telling Doctor Beverly Crusher to prepare for possible casualties. His eyes lingered on the back of a newly transferred ensign. _This could be a chance to see what she's made of _he thought hesitantly _God, she looks like some one could snap her in half_.

"Ensign..." he trailed off realizing he didn't know her name.

"Tia Malone sir," she said quickly looking up from her controls.

"Ensign Malone you're on the team," he said shortly desperately aware, like nearly ever unmarried male on the ship, of her beauty. Her hair was blonde and was so long that, even when in a tight French-braid, nearly touched the ground. Her eyes were clear blue, she had tanned skin… As close as you could get to perfection. Some people even insisted that she couldn't be human…


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

The away team materialized right outside of the ship, not wanting to risk entering if she was unstable. The first thing Will looked for was the name of the ship. He spotted it instantly and felt the blood drain from his face. _The Extravaganza, oh God no_ he thought in horror, earning him a sharp look from Deanna, and he could've sworn that Tia gave him a curious look before turning swiftly back to the tricorder in her hands. Swallowing her turned to her.

"What's the ship's status?" he asked in an unnaturally calm voice.

"She seems stable enough," Tia replied glancing his way," Are you alright sir?"

"Yes fine. Seems?"

"Well, she's not going to come crashing down on us with out a little help. If we're careful where we step we should be alright. Decks 12 through 15 have been pretty much gutted out… Erm… The walls have been destroyed," she finished blushing slightly.

"Well we're going to have to be careful then. Counselor do you sense anything?" he asked Deanna. She shook her head looking troubled.

"No, absolutely nothing." Will cringed inwardly

"Alright. We'll be able to get in and out quicker if we split up. Data you and Ensign Malone try to get to the bridge. Counselor, you're with me," Will reached for his combadge, to signal the _Enterprise _to beam them into the ship but Tia stopped him.

"Uh, sir?"

"Yes Ensign."

"I wouldn't do that sir. Like I said she _seems _stable enough. If a breeze comes through at the wrong time and you're no where near an exit… Well let's put it this way, I would not want to be you." _That girl has an awful lot of nerve _Will thought but he had to admit that he could see since in Tia's statement.

"Alright," he sighed," find a ground entrance as close to your destinations as possible." Then the team split off, each looking for a way in closest to their destination. Data and the new Ensign were as close to the bridge as they were going to get, just by staying where they were, but Will could see that the only entrance was 15 feet off of the ground.

"Will…" Deanna began but Will cut her off.

"I don't want to talk about it," he muttered.

"Yes you do. Remember who you're talking to Will."

"Yes and sometimes I'd like to keep some thoughts private," he snapped. Steeling a look at the half-Betaziod beside him, he saw the slightly hurt look that had suddenly appeared on her face. "Sorry," he sighed. He did want to tell, and he knew it just as well as Deanna did. He stopped and turned to the counselor. "About 14 years ago my father took on a foster child named Helena. She lived with us for nearly 2 years before my dad adopted her, after I went off to the academy. I used to watch her all the time, whenever my father went on diplomatic missions, sometimes even for days… After a while I'd have to remind myself she was adopted," he added with a dark laugh," She went into the academy to, for engineering and medicine, for animal and people. She whipped through it like nothing and skipped a year," Will stopped and took a deep breath before continuing," About 7 months ago she took a posting on… The _Extravaganza_."

"Oh Will," she gasped. He didn't know how to respond, or even if he could, so he chose to remain silent. They started walking again but when Will turned back minutes later he saw something that completely changed his opinion of Tia Malone.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3**_

"We could climb a tree…" Tia began looking doubtfully at Data. They'd tried every way to the bridge they could think of but each way had been blocked. Finally they'd returned to the beam down site, looking up at their last chance.

"That may be possible," Data said," but the probability of you falling and injuring yourself is very high."

"What about you?"

"A fall from there would not hurt me, but you run the risk of breaking your neck." Tia burst out laughing at Data's last statement. Leaving Data looking slightly bewildered, she began circling the most promising tree in the area.

"Then tree it is," she said hoisting herself onto the first branch.

"That is most unadvisable."

"That's the fun of it, but of course if you really don't want me to, just order me to stop," Tia said looking down at the android on the ground. Data hesitated; Tia did not seem to see the dangers to herself if she was to fall, or maybe she did and simply didn't care. Humans were so confusing sometimes. Finally he made his decision. He saw Tia smile as he followed her up into the tree.

"In my experience the possibility of death frightens most humans," he said as they continued climbing higher.

"Who said I was human? I'm joking," she added quickly as she realized Data believed her.

"Oh. Funny." Tia giggled and nearly lost her balance, but still grinning she gripped the branch harder to steady herself.

"How tall are these trees? 20 feet?"

"On average they are 26 feet, 4 inches, 15 cm…" Data trailed off as he saw Tia looking down at him with raised eyebrows," Was that meant as sarcasm?"

"Yep." They climbed in silence for a while as the branches became harder and harder to reach. Data studied Tia as they neared the hole that led to the bridge. She did not seem to be afraid of the possible fall, and certain death if she were to fall, at all, which puzzled Data. Most humans he knew would never attempt something like this. He assumed she was trying to impress Commander Riker but he could not understand why she was going to such lengths to do so. He did know one thing. She intrigued him greatly. Somehow he had a feeling that she was lying when she said she was joking about not being human. He did not know where the feeling had come from. It could be just her general attitude. Mentally pulling up her file he saw that Tia had come from Heol 2, one of the most dangerous and violent places the Federation had ever come across. It was considered a sort of haven for outlaws, and because of that there was a lot of gang violence, con artistry, and nearly all other forms of law breaking. _Could it have something to do with that? _He wondered.

"Here we are," Tia announced breaking Data from his thoughts. Looking up in surprise he saw that they were, indeed, at the same level of the hole. He could tell now that it was much larger than he'd originally calculated. Tia looked at it. "It's big enough," she said with satisfaction," but how do we get to it?" She tried simply stepping out but she couldn't quite reach it. Finally she stepped a bit farther out and… Jumped. Data's eyes widened as she leaped from the branch to the hole.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4**_

Only one of her hands managed to catch hold of the jagged bottom of the gap in the hull. She bit her lip as she felt the sharp metal cut into her hands, and swung herself so her other hand closed on the edge to.

"Commander Riker to Ensign Malone," a voice over her combadge said. _He sounds angry…_Tia thought as she let go with one bloodied hand, swinging dangerously, and slapped the combadge.

"Sir this isn't the best…" she started but Will cut her off.

"To hell it's not! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Ummmmmm… Hanging… Around," she answered looking down and spotted the Commander and Counselor a good ways below.

"Why?" he demanded. _Oh yes he'd pissed alright_ Tia thought and smirked as she began to heave herself over the edge, and into a corridor that could hopefully take them to the bridge.

"Cause' the only way to the bridge we haven't tried yet… Sir."

"I told you to _try_ to get to the bridge not kill yourself."

"Who said I was gonna kill myself?" _Foot hole would be nice now…Here we go_ she thoughtand thrust herself into the corridor, barely restraining herself from telling the Commander 'I told you so,' she had a feeling that would be pushing it a little to far. She coughed as she breathed in smoke and struggled to see through the haze around her. Beams were everywhere, covering one or two bodies. The lights were dim and blinked on and off continually "You comin' sir?" she called to Data.

"I think that under the circumstances," he answered looking down at the Commander who was surely furious by now," that it would be best for me to stay behind."

"Suit yourself," Tia shrugged and turned back to the task of finding the bridge," So where exactly am I?" she asked into the combadge.

"Deck 13 section 8," Commander Riker said grudgingly.

"And where's the bridge?"

"Ensign!"

"What!? I just wanna know where the bridge is! Ummm… Sir. This ship's not like the _Enterprise_."

"Deck 11."

"Thank you... Sir." Why could she never remember to call people sir? Of course she knew why but she wasn't about to tell them why… She whipped around, having sworn she heard a moan.

"Report Ensign."

"Ummm… I'm not quite sure at the moment sir. I thought… Oh never mind," she sighed as she turned back towards what she hoped was a staircase, but turned as she heard the moan again. "Hello?" she called.

"Ensign, what is going on up there?"

"I think some ones here sir… Alive."

"Can you see them?" he asked. Was that hopefulness she detected in his voice?

"Uh, no not ye…" and she broke off into a fit of coughing as she moved farther into the ship," the smoke's pretty think up here," she managed to choke out," I can hardly see my hands in front of my face… And there goes the lights. Wonderful," she exclaimed as the lights cut off on her making it even harder to navigate through the wreckage. "Ouch. This is fun. Hello? Anyone here?" She thought she heard a soft mutter and a hand closed around her ankle and she toppled over, slamming her head against a hanging beam. Seeing stars, she managed to sit up dizzily and spotted the person who'd grabbed her. It was a girl, about Tia's own age, with a long main of red hair trapped under a pile of fallen beams and debris. Her bright green eyes were wide when she saw what she'd done. Tia struggled to her feet, head throbbing, and had to steady herself against the wall as a wave of dizziness took over. "Found her," she whispered weakly.

"Are you alright?" it was Data's voice this time.

"Uh, not really," she answered grimacing with the pain. "I'm gonna need help." She heard Data calling for her, now in the corridor. "Over here," Tia managed to yell. _How hard did I hit my head for crying out loud_? She wondered as another blast of white hot pain shot through her skull. The dark form of Data appeared out of no where, standing over her.

"You are hurt," he stated, looking at her oddly.

"Ignore it," Tia mouthed, not wanting the Commander to over hear her over the combadges. She wasn't telling Data to ignore the injury but the color of the blood that she knew was probably seeping from the wound. She couldn't fool him like she could normal humans; he would be able to see that instead of red, her blood was metallic blue. "There's some one trapped over here sir. I can't lift the ruble on top of her," she added quickly with another wince. Tia motioned to the teenager and noticed with a sickening feeling, that had nothing to do with her head, that the girl had lost consciousness. Data was there, next to the girl, in a second and Tia sat heavily down on a pile of rubbish. "Uh sir?" Data looked up. "We need to get out of here soon."

"Why," Data inquired. Tia severed the link between her and Data and those on the ground.

"Obviously you can see I'm not human. I'll give you the info on us later but for now… I can hide it from the others, they'll not know a thing, Please keep it that way. It's really important that they don't know anything. In this case ignorance could save their lives… Especially with me still on board but that's not important right now. I could tell that something was up with Commander Riker and this ship so I used my powers, info on them later also, to hold all of it up, but when I hit my head…" she trailed up as they heard the ship groan and shift," Uh oh," she muttered. Data turned to the trapped girl and began lifting the ruble off of her as fast as he could manage.

"Riker to Data, GET OUT OF THERE NOW!"

"I am working on it Commander," Data answered calmly as the _Extravaganza _came down around them…


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 4**_

Nearly an hour later sickbay was in a flurry of activity. The metal Tia had grabbed had gone nearly completely through her hands and, though it should have been a relatively easy task to heal them, they weren't responding to treatment. Data had stayed with her as Will, Captain Picard, Beverly, and Deanna crowed around the bio bed occupied by the girl Tia had found, waiting for any information the computer could scrounge up on her. Will hadn't said a word since the girl had been beamed up and the _Extravaganza _had collapsed into herself, which everyone but Deanna and Tia considered strange.

They hadn't had long to wait for the info on the comatose girl. After only half an hour the file had been forwarded to sickbay from the ship. Everyone, even Tia who had bandages rapped around her hands, had grouped around the console. Data, who'd reached it first, read the report on the girl.

"Data," the Captain prompted as Data said nothing but stared at the screen in surprise.

"Name: Helena…" Data hesitated at this as if he were checking to make sure he had not misread the information," Riker," he finished slightly uncertainly and looked to Will as almost everyone who'd heard Data did. But Will only gave a weak nod, telling Data to continue. "Age: 16. Field: Medicine for mainly animals but also for people. Rank: Cadet. Had been on the _Extravaganza _for only 6 months."

"Ooh bad luck," Tia muttered and Deanna nodded in agreement.

"She was adopted when she was 4 by Admiral Riker and was said to be a veterinary "genius" by her medical teachers at the Academy. That is all we have," concluded Data.

"That pretty much covers it anyway," Will said, slightly uncomfortably, for most of the people in the room was still staring at him.

"Now," Captain Picard said trying to draw attention away from his first officer," the only question is… What the hell happened to them?"

-------------------

_Hi everyone! I hope you liked my first posting. Obviously it's not done yet but I'll be posting new chapters probably every other day depending on the length of the chapter. Please be nice when reviewing but constructive criticism is always welcome! _


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter 5**_

Helena woke into darkness. She groaned as a flash of white hot pain lashed through her head. Some one swam into her already blurry vision.

"Hey you're awake," some one muttered softly.

"Will?" she whispered, blinking, trying to focus her eyes some.

"Ya it's me."

"What happened?"

"You crashed."

"Well I kind of got that," she sighed," What happened to the others?"

"Uh…" Will trailed off not wanting to break the news to Helena, at least not in the condition she was in. The stress it would cause could not have a good impacted on her.

"Will what is it?"

"They're all dead. As soon as Data got you out the _Extravaganza _collapsed in on herself. I'm really sorry Helen." Helena looked away, blinking back tears, and stared at the wall.

"No one?" she choked.

"No. We searched the ruble but no one was alive." A single tear ran down the side of her face but she managed to swallow the sobs that were threatening to overtake her.

"There were a thousand five hundred and twenty-two people there," she whispered more to herself than to Will. She still couldn't force herself to meet his eyes, and reveal to him that she was crying. Though she assumed he knew by now. "Oh what happened to the girl I…Uh… Tripped?"

"That was you? She's fine, left a couple of hours ago."

"What time is it?"

"2438 hours."

"You've been here the whole time?"

"Dad told me to watch you."

"Ya like what… 11 years ago?"

"Probably." Helena looked up at him and swallowed, remembering the her last few minutes on the _Extravaganza_.

"They showed up out of now where," she said quietly.

"What? Who?"

"I don't know. It was as if a part of space just went dark, like all of the stars just like died or something, snuffed out. Then they slid out of it and just hovered above the planet. We tried hailing them but they wouldn't answer. The ship was beautiful. Glowing green and looked more along the lines of a bird or a butterfly or somethin' like that, but then they fired. We hadn't had a chance to put up shields so the shot cut through decks 12-15."

"Helen you don't have to talk about this now…" Will started but Helena just ignored him.

"Then they beamed over. They looked like a cross between Vulcan and Human. Pointed ears and rather tall but other than that could pass completely as us. Oh and their eyes were the color of their ship, completely. You couldn't see pupils or white or anything like that. I was on the bridge. They looked around a bit; you could tell they were looking for some one. Our security chief tried to shoot them but the leader, at least I think he was the leader, dodged it and shot him. The guy screamed, collapsed and convulsed for a little while but, before we could do anything, he died. Then he killed the captain and actually started to smile, like he'd just won some sort of sports game. Then they were gone and the other ship caught us in a tractor beam. They pushed us down into the atmosphere far enough that we wouldn't be able to pull out. We tried though and for a second or two we thought we were gonna get out of it but they hit us with a bunch of torpedoes, knocking out our engines and causing fires all over the ship, including the bridge. Another ship appeared then, the same way the other one did, only this one was golden. The green one fired on that one but it dodged it and caught us and tried to pull us out at the same time as keeping the other ship from damaging us any more than we already were. They took at least seven hits for us for no reason at all what so ever. One of them must have caused some problems because their tractor beam flickered and died. That's the last we saw of them, we were in the gravitational pull then and spinning out of control. Then we crashed and I think I blacked out. At least when I opened my eyes everything was hazy and the fires at burned themselves out. I tried to find anyone on the bridge who'd survived but there was no, still alive I mean. So I took one of the tunnels to where ever you found me. I lost track of decks. Then I found an exit that wasn't blocked or jammed and so I got out but then a bunch of ruble fell down on me and I blacked out again…" Helena trailed off and stared up into Will's face, her eyes filling up with tears. Will hugged her, not knowing what else to do. Sobs racked her figure as memories flooded back into her mind.

"Hey, it's over now. Your safe on the _Enterprise _and nothing can get to you here," Will said as comfortingly as he could manage after the shock of what Helena had told him. She turned her big, tear bright eyes to his.

"I wish I could believe that." Will gave her a questioning look. "You didn't see them Will. Their ship was like larger than 10 times this one," Will's mouth dropped open," Their weapons could power Earth for a long time. And the thing is, well, I don't think things are gonna end with the _Extravaganza._"

"On the other hand… We could be in trouble."


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter 6**_

Will strode into conference room, slightly out of breath. He'd just been by to see Helena and was late for the meeting on the information his sister had given him the night before. She couldn't be there, much to her annoyance, and so Will had become the closest thing they had to a specialist.

"Sorry," he said to the others as he sat down.

"Alright," Captain Picard began," Now that we're all here we can begin. This is Commander Riker's meeting."

"Thank you," Will said and yawned. Deanna glanced over at him amusedly," Helena woke up last night and told me a little about the _Extravaganza_'s attackers."

"Wait, you were up with her all night?" Doctor Crusher asked.

"That's not the point. Anyway what she told me could mean trouble for the Federation."

"What kind of trouble?" Geordi asked.

"Our destruction," Will answered.

"Ya that could be trouble."

"So what exactly happened?" Ensign Malone asked, since she'd been the only one, other than Data, to have gotten into the ship, she was being included the senior officer's meeting.

"Well we were in orbit above Thetan 5, minding our own business when, right off our port bow, a bunch of stars just sort of disappeared," a voice said from the darkest corner of the room. Helena stepped out from the shadows. Will rolled his eyes and motioned to the empty seat between him and Ensign Malone. The Ensign, being the only person other than Data who'd gotten into the ship, was being included in the senior officer's meeting. Helena stumbled slightly and Will jumped up, helping her to the chair. "Thanks," she muttered with a little annoyance at the fact that she couldn't yet walk by herself and then she turned to Tia," Oh and sorry about tripping you and everything but you were about to go right passed me and…" she trailed off.

"No problem. I wouldn't have seen you if you hadn't, the smoke was so thick," Tia shrugged. Helena grinned and turned back to the officers and shooting her most innocent look at Doctor Crusher who looked just short of murderous having told Helena specifically that she wasn't to leave her bed, let alone sickbay.

"Anyway," Helena said confidently," So the stars just sort of disappeared off our port bow like a black hole had sprung out of nowhere…" but Tia interrupted her.

"Uh… You mean like… That?" she asked worriedly pointing out the window which sure enough showed, where'd there'd been glittering stars before, a slate of black. They all jumped up and half ran for the door leading to the bridge.

"Shields up, red alert," Captain Picard ordered as soon as he stepped foot on the bridge. The alert claxons screamed and the crew was suddenly bathed in a bloody red light. Everyone's gazed fixedly at the view screen which displayed the darkened area of space.

Suddenly a pitiful looking ship appeared through the hole. Glowing gold but the actual color seemed a bit diminished and instead one of the "wings" Helena had described seemed bend, like a broken bone.

"Captain, they're hailing us," Worf stated from his station positioned behind the Captain's chair.

"On screen," the Captain said briskly," Stand down red alert but keep the shields up."

The face of a relatively handsome, but slightly battered, man appeared on the screen. He seemed too young to be Captain, looking about 19 years of age, but completely looked the part.

"Huo conser kidls?" the man inquired. Captain Picard and Will exchanged glances. Something of their looks must have registered in the man's mind because he smiled slightly and tried again. "I'm sorry I forgot you wouldn't know our language," he laughed, speaking heavily accented English that sounded slightly familiar...

"This is Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation Starship _Enterprise_," the Captain stated in a business like tone.

"We know. I'm, well in your rank terms, Captain Tony Exstansía representing the Nebulan Empire, but Tony is fine." Captain Picard signaled Worf to cut the audio of the transmission.

"Nebulans? Like the space anomaly nebulas?" Will asked skeptically. He saw Data glance to Tia who simply smiled and nodded. Deciding not to say anything, Will turned to the Captain who shrugged and turned to Deanna.

"Counselor do you sense anything?"

"Well their telepathic for one thing, but they seem completely open and friendly. I sense a little awe of something from them. I'm not sure what. But the Captain, Tony, seemed to be hiding something from me. I don't think they mean us any harm but they are covering something up." They glanced up at the view screen which showed the other Captain talking and joking with another officer that was out of view, obviously waiting for them to re-open connection. Captain Picard nodded to Worf who did just that and the other Captain turned back to them, seemingly a bit happier than he had been before. Then there was the sound of an explosion behind him and he jerked around.

"Tora are you alright?" he demanded.

"Yup but we're not goin' anywhere for a while," a muffled voice answered.

"Well I could of told you that," he muttered," I'm sorry about all of this Captain. We've had an… eventful trip."

"That's the ship," Helena whispered to Will," The same one that tried to help us. They must have kept fighting after we'd crashed or something."

"I'm sorry to hear that Captain," Picard stated, pretending he'd not over heard Helena," Is there anyway we could be of service?"

"I don't think so…" trailing off as the same voice spoke up from behind him.

"We've lost guidance systems and everyone on decks 14-20 are floating around. Take the help."

"Never mind then. Yes I do believe we could use some help if it wouldn't be any trouble," he sighed.

"We'll send over repair teams. _Enterprise _out," Picard said and the screen once again turned to the stars.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter 7**_

Tia strode along the corridors of the alien's ship, taking in every familiar sight. Beside her, Wesley and Data were keeping in step with her as she led them to God knows where so she could explain in detail what was happening. They were the only two who knew her secret, she'd told Wesley on their second date.

With out warning Tia turned into a room directly off the corridor into a sort of thrown room. 7 thrones with the one in the middle slightly raised above the others. Tia walked purposefully to one of the 7 doors that branched off form the room and, after scanning all of them, opened.

"Heir Comeg ekli sio," a cool female voice said, similar to the computer's voice on the _Enterprise._ Tia led them through into a colorful room filled with exotic looking furniture.

"So what do you think?" she asked sitting down on a couch that actually looked like it could walk away on its thick hairy legs.

"Fit for an Empress," Wesley said jokingly.

"I would hope so," Tia laughed, throwing her hair over her shoulder.

"We do not have much time before some one realizes we are not at our posts," Data said matter-of-factly.

"Alright, alright," Tia sighed," What do you wanna know?"

"What attacked the _Extravaganza_?" Wesley asked immediately.

"We call them the Heoiul, which basically means traitors in our language. About 1,000,000 years ago we weren't as peaceful as we are today. There were hunting games, where people who were simply at the wrong place at the wrong time were the prey and people were killed for no reason at all whatsoever. Finally as the numbers of living people began to diminish the government's officials realized that if they were to survive then they'd have to change. And it worked. The hunters found a type of animal that had always posed a danger to the Nebulans, its skin was coated in poison and it was invisible, to hunt and they formed a law system and for nearly a century everything seemed perfect. But then some people became restless. They were the ones with all of the hunter's blood you see. They broke off and took some of the newly manufactured starships and set off to find a planet of their own. Over time they began attacking us, just for the fun of it. Finally things erupted to a full scale war that's still going on right now."

"But what does that have to do with the Federation?" Data asked.

"Well I was stupid. After an attack on the old Nebula, we were forced to move but I accidentally got left behind. I was rescued by Ferangi who later traded me with a Federation ship… Oh never mind. Anyway I had no idea where we were suppose to be settling so I, in the end, was pretty much stranded on Earth with no way to get back to my people. So I thought that if I joined Star Fleet I'd be more likely to find them and I did. Using the lists they managed to get of the students at the Academy, my brother and sister managed to track me down but I decided to stay. I didn't know that since I stayed the Heoiul's would pull you into the war, but they did. We've been trying to keep them away from your borders… But that's obviously not working all that well. K'ktari keeps telling me that we need to tell you…"

"Wait," Wesley interrupted," K'ktari? You mean your dog?"

"He's a Jiehound actually," Tia answered, her eyes sparkling," You can't tell me you've never thought there was something strange about him."

"Well ya, but he can talk?"

_Telepathy _a voice said in his head.

"Oh," Wesley muttered as he whipped around and saw K'ktari standing at the door. Yawning he walked slowly to Tia's side, his paws making no sound on the carpeted floors.

_The Heoiuls are approaching Federation borders _K'ktari "said" to everyone in the room though the message was obviously intended for Tia.

"Tell Tony… Or Misha… Or even Aspen if you can't find any of the others, to send orders for the fleet to meet them there. Have them cover every planet on the Heoiul's intended course… And don't bother going to Yahel for permission," she added suddenly," we don't have time. Act and then ask. Oh and tell Tony to bring the Federation officers to the thrown room. It's time they meet our leaders." K'ktari shrugged and galloped out of the room with a sudden sense of urgency that hadn't been present before.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Chapter 8**_

"I don't believe it!" Will half shouted at Wesley," I just want to look at a few things. I'll be back in time for the meeting. I couldn't miss this thing even if I wanted to…What the hell is that girl playing at?" Will had been frustrated enough already without Ensign Malone's no show. Captain Exstansía had been right when he'd said that the _Enterprise _had never seen a ship like the one they were currently on. The ship had turned out to be completely organic, a living organism basically, and although the Nebulans were being as helpful as possible, the repairs had proved themselves to be a slow and agonizing business. To top it all off, they'd learned that the ship wasn't only a battleship but a sort of carrier for the seven leaders of Nebula, at least that's what he thought the other Nebulans had said. Most weren't as good at English as the Captain had been. But since some of the away team was suppose to be meeting these leaders, Will was confident that he was right in his understanding of the aliens.

"I don't know sir. She was behind me and then she wasn't. I don't know where she went," Wesley answered helplessly.

"They'll see you now," an older woman said, keeping Will from answering, as she exited the room in front of them. Will, still fuming, strode through the door and looked around, taking as much as he could in. The room seemed awfully large for a star ship but, considering the shear size of this particular one, it seemed to fit. The walls were covered with elaborate murals of heroes fighting revolting looking monsters and, on the ceiling; there was a mural of 7 serious looking men and women. Finally he turned the 7 thrones in the middle of the room. 4 things caught his attention more than any of the wall paintings had.

Those seated on the thrones were in robes, and each robe seemed to be a different color of a rainbow

2) The people seated on the thrones looked oddly young, one of them, seated on the girl completely dressed in yellow's lap, looked like she couldn't be more than 6 or 7

3) At least one animal was seated to the left of each thrown, looking proud and intelligent

Ensign Tia Malone was seated on the throne that was elevated to rise above the rest

Will's mouth dropped open and as he looked around he saw that the others looked as surprised as he was… All except for two.

"Hello Commander," Tia said happily, leaning forward and resting her elbows on her knees. Will was speechless. He realized suddenly that _this _was probably the reason she had a hard time remembering to call her ranking officers sir. She actually out ranked them all… By a lot. "I hope your enjoying your visit on my ship."

"_Our…_" a boy, dressed in orange, began but Tia cut him off.

"Shut up," she said without even glancing at the boy, who sat back and glowered at the back of her head. One of the girls giggled, obviously enjoying herself.

There were 4 girls and 3 boys, each in a throne that had a gem placed right above their heads which matched the color of their robes. The 7 year old was in a violet jumper which clashed with her blazing red hair. Judging by what the away team had seen, they could deduce that the colors were used to show rank, red being the one with the most power and violet with the least. There also seemed to be a bit of competition between the leaders. The little kid would look up and stick her tongue out at the boy green, who'd only glare back, but Will could tell there'd be more of a fight had the _Enterprise _officers not been there.

"So Commander what do you think?" Tia asked genially curious," Kaborn don't you dare!" she added as the boy in green made a swipe at the little girl. Kaborn stared at Tia disbelievingly.

"I don't believe it! She can jump on me but I can't even punch her?" he asked exasperated.

"Tia, Kaborn's being mean to me!" the kid wailed.

"Aspen will you shut up for once in your life?" Kaborn yelled.

"NO!" Aspen shouted back.

"QUIET!" Tia yelled. Her voice reverberated around the room and the air crackled with electricity. Her eyes had turned a solid blood red as she glowered at Kaborn and Aspen. Aspen shrugged and turned back to playing dolls in the other girl's lap while Kaborn seemed to be debating over whether to ignore Tia or if that would be too much. Finally, after what sounded like a roll of thunder, he threw up his hands and leaned back in defeat. The electricity disappeared and Tia was her perky self again.

"Now," she said calmly after giving Kaborn one finale warning glare," what do you think of the ship so far Commander."

"I've never seen anything like it," he admitted.

"Never? I thought you'd encountered something similar before. A completely organic ship that was upset because it's crew had died. You let a Betaziod man stay aboard it didn't you? And also your first mission, wasn't that star base a sentient being?" she asked. And Will remembered suddenly.

"Yes but it was nothing like this," he answered," Are all your ships like this?"

"Happily, yes they are. The Tyzians were more than willing to help us. They, like the ship you encountered, preferred to have a crew. The whole race serves as our ships. We offered to create our own battle ships but they wouldn't hear of it. If you can ever manage to completely empty your mind while you're aboard this ship you can talk to her. She knows English very well, she even taught us."

"I'll try it some time," he promised and he meant it. Talking to a ship had to be an interesting experience.

"It is interesting," Aspen piped up," and fun. She likes playing games with me and she always helps me memorize stuff. Did you know she's over 1,000 years old? Cause she is and so she has great stories. She tells me stories every night after Katya or Tia or Evie or whoever's reading to me leaves."

"Really?" the girl who Will thought must be Evie (indigo) said.

"I didn't say that," Aspen said sheepishly and looked up at Katya (yellow). Tia rolled her eyes. Will supposed that he had to expect the constant interruptions, all of them being teens and all, but that still didn't help when it came to gathering information. He turned to Data and Wesley.

"Did you know about this?" he demanded.

"I uh… W-well sir…" Wesley stammered, caught off guard.

"I'll take that as a yes," Will said sarcastically turning back to Tia who grinned sheepishly.

"Well I really didn't have a choice you know. Me and Wesley were dating and Data saw through every illusion I tried to set up… Which I don't appreciate by the way. Anyway… I don't remember what we were talking about."

"Figures," the boy in orange, Misha muttered and Tia turned towards him, once again angry as hell. She didn't even have to say anything to silence him. He recoiled at the look she gave him and stared after her in surprised even when she'd turned her back coldly on him. "Some one's moody today. What? No hurricanes today?"

"No," Tia muttered,

"I was joking."

"Do shut up."

"Make me."

"Oh soooooooooooooo mature."

"Will you two get over yourselves?" Katya sighed motioning to the Starfleet officers.

"NO!" they both shouted together and a deafening crack of thunder echoed through the room.

"O.K then. You have got to take a break. Aspen how bout' that tour for Commander Riker, Tia go blow off some steam before you kill some one and Misha I need talk to you," Katya said quickly. She watched as Aspen dragged Commander Riker out the door, him looking totally confused and then shoved Misha into her office. "What was that?" she half shouted before Misha had managed to shut the door. His ears turned slightly red as he saw the others shooting curious glances their way, and he hastily slammed the door. Katya's unanswered question rang around the crowded room. Katya's office was stuffed full of antiques furniture she'd collected on her constant travels into the past. That was her specialty, time traveling, and she insisted on bringing back artifacts and decorations, despite Tia's pleading. Katya was a sort of third party in the group, and arbitrator in the constant fights between the other teens… And in Misha's love life. Misha sank heavily down on a couch from Earth's Middle ages, his head in his hands and Katya immediately bit her lip in guilt. It wasn't often she lost her temper and Misha obviously didn't need to hear shouting at the moment.

"Didn't you hear?" he whispered," She has a _boyfriend_! And I'm not him." Katya sat down beside him and put her arm around his shoulder.

"It's alright. You know how quickly she goes through relationships. This one shouldn't be any different."

"Couldn't you of all people sense it? This relationship, to her, is different. She's happier than ever, and I'm happy for her, but…" he trailed off sadly. Katya said nothing because she knew he was right. Tia loved Wesley more than she'd loved any of her past boyfriends. For once Katya felt hopeless. Tia was her best friend and all she wanted was for her to be happy but she desperately wanted Misha to be happy also. _Maybe Tia's right _Katya thought _I really shouldn't try to keep everyone happy_ but then Misha looked hopefully up at her. _Oh no, here we go…_ "Maybe you could take me to the future… You know… To find out what gonna happen?" Katya shook her head sadly.

"No, I'm afraid not. Terrible things can happen to those who know too much of the future. Time is just not meant to be tampered with."

"But you do it all the time."

"I go to the past. It's different. I try to avoid going forward in time as much as possible. It's too easy to get addicted to… Knowing everything that's going to happen before it happens and it's too easy to mess everything up."

"The past then, get me and Tia together."

"Misha you know the past is written. No matter how hard you try things are going to end up just as they are now."

"I suppose I should let it go…"

"Yes."

"Oh who am I kidding? I'm never getting over her."

"There will be others. Just focus on them and get on with your life. Eventually you'll see her and realize that you see her only as a friend… erm… Sort of… More like enemy but still," she finished awkwardly and Misha laughed in spite of himself.

"Thanks KT."

"Don't mention it. I'm here to help, and also to keep you and Tia from killing each other." Misha hugged her and then left to join Kaborn and Cyro (blue) who'd been waiting for him. Katya followed suit, meeting Evie.

"What'd you do?" she asked at they left the room nodding to the few minor officers who insisted on bowing to them and waving to their friends who were on duty.

"Tia," Katya sighed.

"Oh," Evie shook her head, grasping the situation immediately," Still can't get over her can he?"

"No."

"Well maybe eventually…"

"Ya like when Tia gets married."

"That could be a problem."

"Ooooh yes."


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter 9**_

"Don't take it personally," Aspen was saying," no one can ever get much out of Tia and Misha together. They fight too much, and when they get really angry they can cause some damage. Like now for instance. We're gonna have to take a detour." As Aspen chattered cheerfully, pulling Will through hallway after hallway.

"What do you mean?"

"Well if Tia gets too angry she can make a hurricane big enough to fill this entire star system! But then again that's not the biggest one she can make."

"WHAT!?"

"She's very powerful but I don't think she likes being Thesarea much."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, she doesn't like anyone calling her Thesarea and she doesn't like staying in one place for very long. Tony says she's like the wind, restless and im…im...impalsive?"

"Impulsive you mean."

"Yes that's right. I have trouble with some big words in English, don't know why. K'pao says it's because I'm only 6 and that I will get it all soon." She walked up to one of the depressions in the wall that indicated a door and it vanished. Smoke and red-hot air met them and Aspen hastily stepped back. "I'm running out of detours," she wined but brightened suddenly," Ooh we could go through the science labs or the… I think you call it the bridge. Which do you want?"

"What's in the science labs?"

"New weapons and technology, chemical experiments, and lots of cute little animals and talking plants."

"You have talking plants here?" Aspen looked up at him like he'd lost his head or something.

"Of course. Who doesn't? Some of them can be mean sometimes. I don't like those. But the others are really nice."

"The labs it is."

"Good, I'm not allowed on the bridge yet. The labs are this way." She led him down one corridor after another, but, unlike the ones above, each were different. One had the distinct feeling of humbleness, with child-draw pictures covering the walls of waterfalls, mountains, and river valleys which Will assumed must have come from their home planet. Children, anywhere from 2-9 years old were running along pinning pictures on the already saturated walls. Some called to Aspen while others shyly looked up at Will. He smiled at them and waved and the others waved back. The next was more active. Shops lined the appeared out of no where selling everything from teddy bears (at least that's what Will thought they were) to deadly looking swords. He glimpsed Tia and Wesley amongst the other shoppers. Tia, looking significantly more cheerful than before, seemed to be trying to coax Wesley into trying on a dress-like robe.

"Come on, they're for men I swear."

"You try on what you want. Shopping's your thing, not mine.

"That's why we're here. I'm gonna make shopping your thing. Come on just try it on. You don't have to buy it." Spotting Will, Wesley tried to smile but it turned out more like a weak grimace before Aspen pulled on Will's arm impatiently and Tia regained Wesley's attention with an exasperated sigh.

"Fine," Will heard her say," I'll get Evie and Katya to shop with me. Oh no you don't. You get to sit there and tell me what you think."

"But…" Wesley started to protest but a gale of laughter from a neighboring store. Aspen couldn't resist the temptation and strode into one the stores. It was obviously a pet store but it carried none of the animals Will found familiar. There was, for example, what looked like a flying cheetah in one of the cages, regarding Will thoughtfully.

"What's so funny?" she asked the men who were laughing so hard it looked like the only thing holding them up was the counter top. Will couldn't help but stare at them. One had at least 50 arms, with 10 fingers per hand, and eyes covering his bald head. Another was covered in multicolored fur and the third was nearly 12 feet tall, though, once again because of the unusually high ceiling, he was able to stand without trouble.

"Nothing Your Majesty. It was only a joke, and not one for small ears to hear at that," the tall one said in struggled English so it came out more along the lines of," Nuttin' Ya Masjety. It wes ondy a jock, end nut un for mall' ares ta hear at thet." Aspen pouted and the one with the 50 arms gave a hearty laugh and patted her comfortingly on the back.

"One day we'll tell you all of the dirty jokes we know," he promised.

"You say that every time. I'm six years old! That's more than a whole hand!" she complained.

"Let's make a deal," the multicolored man reasoned," We'll tell you the joke when you're… That many years old," he said pointing at the many armed man who held out two of his hands. Aspen thought for a second and then she smiled.

"O.K."

"Now aren't you going to introduce us to your human friend?"

"Oh. This is Commander Riker. Commander Riker this is Helal," the many armed man waved," that's Ketlen," the 12 foot tall man winked as he heard his name," and that's Getylo. I'm taking Commander Riker to the labs."

"Oh tough luck, decks 15-20 have been shut down for repairs."

"But how else are we going to get to Yilo? Can I go on the Bridge?" she asked eagerly.

"'fraid not but Getylo can take you to the Yilo can't you Getylo?'

"I suppose I'll have to," Getylo sighed turning colors to a collection of blues. He grabbed both Will and Aspen by the hand, Will heard a sort of rushing whistling sound, and they appeared in a slightly plainer corridor. "Now if you don't mind I must be getting back." Getylo bowed deeply to Aspen who giggled, shook Will's hand, and simply vanished.

"It's in there," Aspen said pointing at the only door off the hall," go on."

"Aren't you coming?" Will asked.

"No, now go on in. She's expecting you." Will walked experimentally up to the door which vanished, leaving an entrance into a sort of golden mist. He stepped through the archway which closed immediately. Cautiously he ventured farther into the room; each step echoed off the walls that he couldn't see.

"Hello?" he called but all he heard was his own voice fading away," Hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello"

_Hello Commander Riker, I am Hertesseea. _Will looked around in surprise for the source of the voice although he wasn't sure that he'd heard it in the first place.

"How do you know my name?"

_I've been listening._

"Where are you?"

_Everywhere. I am Hertesseea of the Tyzians. I am this ship._

"The Tyzians… The species that make up the Nebulan fleet?"

_Yes._

"Why did you pledge yourselves to the Nebulans then? They said they offered to build their own ships for dangerous missions but you refused."

_The Nebulans are quite different from any other race I… Or you have ever come across. They are powerful but yet they are like human children. Playful and overly eager to please anyone they come across, if you spend a bit more time around Tia then you'll realize she's no different. They will do as they're told, as long as they're sure it's for the right cause, no matter the cost. The day Tia climbed the tree to reach the Extravaganza's bridge, she knew about your sister. She held up the ship as long as she could and I'm sure she would have stayed behind searching for your sister until something killed her. All Nebulans would have, most likely, done the same thing. Once you've earned their friendship, which isn't hard, you could never find a more loyal or dedicated friend. They'd rather die than watch another race suffer or die and quite often they have done just that. They will give every drop of power they have to save some one although they know when their power levels drop below a certain point they will die. They've fought long and bloody wars against races to save other species. They're quick to trust and quick to forgive. You could insult a Nebulan all you want and five minutes later they're apologizing for doing something that prompted the insults, as if they deserved it. They'll do anything for another race and refuses anything in return unless it's forced on them. Normally we stay out of the way of other species, most being violent or greedy, but we couldn't watch a race giving their lives for others without any rewards. They were dying out when offered them help. They'd given so much of their power that there was almost none left to keep them alive. _

Will stood quietly, stunned. Now that he thought about it, Tia had warned the away team to stay near an exit while in the _Extravaganza _and yet she'd gone in herself though the bridge had been two decks below the nearest escape. Suddenly he sort of felt Hertesseea retreat. She'd said what she needed to say. Will felt his way through the mist and found the door. As always it vanished and Will knew he was in trouble. The corridor was no longer empty; instead there were about 13 men with neon green eyes pacing the hallway, weapons drawn. Aspen was laid out on the floor, with a trickle of metallic blue blood sliding down the side of her face, utterly knocked out. At first all Will could do was stare uncomprehendingly at the scene, but, before he knew it, three men jumped at him. He scrambled out of the way, allowing the men to collide with the wall, and, to his horror the men sunk through, tumbling through airless space. One of the men grabbed him suddenly, twisting Will's arm behind his back so it would be impossible for him to pull away without dislocating his shoulder. He put up a slightly pitiful struggle but stopped as he heard his shoulder crack. Aspen stirred weakly and tried to push herself up but was down again as a man kicked her in the head.

"Commander Riker," a man said amusedly," Not exactly the man we were hoping for but you'll have to do." He said that as if the entire universe was below him, like none of whatever they were doing was worth the time. "Heul! Tel edr helk serch," the same man, obviously the leader, barked and the room vanished in a shower of sparks…

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_Sorry this chapter took so long to get out. Between school, swim team, and everything else I haven't had much time to type and this is a kind of long chapter to top it all off. Well anyway here it is and I'd love to know what you think. Please don't be to harsh but creative criticism is always welcome._


	11. Chapter 11

_**Chapter 11**_

She was tired, oh so tired. The meeting hadn't gone as well as she hoped and it had certainly gone on much longer than expected. Debates and small verbal fights had broken out after only the first hour, everyone wishing to be heard. The Starfleet officers had asked question after question, insisting on more information on every subject that came up. Not that she blamed them but the constant explanations had worn her out quite quickly. After 5 hours Tony had told Tia to leave, that Misha could handle the rest and she'd obeyed without a fight. Beside, she had something to do. Her head throbbed and her eyes felt like lead. She rested her head in her hands, pressing her hands against her eyes, closing out the light in an attempt to relieve her pain. Slowly Tia gave into her exhaustion and fell asleep.

_She was in a tiled room of a castle. Everywhere Heoiul flags hang, flapping in the breeze that was coming through an open door leading onto a balcony over looking a large courtyard. Glancing around the room she spotted a man seated at the only piece of furniture, other than a chair, in the room. The desk was littered with battle plans and letters, one of which seemed to be giving the man a head ache._

_"Eríc?" Tia whispered and the man looked up, startled. _

_"Well you're early," he said, jumping up and offering her the chair," You look terrible."_

_"We've been having a meeting for nearly the last five hours."_

_"Why? I thought you were with the Federation now."_

_"I am, but that doesn't mean I can't be Thesarea to."_

_"I suppose not. Now what was the meeting about?"_

_"The kidnapping of Aspen and a Federation citizen and an attack on a Federation ship!"_

_"By who?"_

_"By you!"_

_"You're kidding! I've been doing everything to keep them from doing anything to drastic until you were ready. I've given order after order, telling them that we were going to get you out of the way first. I can't believe it! What do you want me to do?"_

_"Absolutely nothing."_

_"What?"_

_"I don't want you to do anything. That's why I'm here, to tell you to do what a normal Heoiul leader would do. I do have a plan and I need you to do what you would do had you never joined up with us."_

_"But before I would have…"_

_"I know but you'll never get the chance, at least not to Aspen," she said looking up at him, her meaning clear in her eyes._

_"I won't!" he told her shortly._

_"If all goes well you might not have to. But if not… Then I'm ordering you to execute me. No matter what. No putting it off, no making excuses. Got it?" Eríc hesitated. "Got it?" Tia repeated with more force. Slowly, sadly, Eríc nodded. Tia smiled in satisfaction, as if she hadn't just ordered her own death._

_"Make sure everything goes well," Eríc said quietly._

_"I can't guarantee that but trust me, I'll being trying." _

_"Tia? Tia? Wake up," said a voice, echoing around the room. _

_"Gotta go," Tia said as she began to fade._

_"Bye," Eríc said and Tia was gone._

Tia woke suddenly, blinded by the light that had been turned on in her room. Tony and Wesley were standing over her, Wesley looking slightly worried but Tony indifferent.

"What?" she groaned as her head returned to pounding painfully.

"Bout' time," Wesley said in relief," We've been trying to make you for nearly 15 minutes."

"Why the hell did you have to go and wake me up anyway?" she asked in annoyance half ironing her throbbing head with her palms.

"Are you o.k?" Tony asked.

"I was until you woke me up! Now go away! I'm going back to sleep." And with that she tried to curl up into a little ball, to block out the light but Tony shook her again.

"Wish I could sis but we need you back at the meeting."

"What happened to Misha can handle it?"

"We thought he could but he didn't know as much as we thought he did about the situation and therefore we need you back."

"I was talking to Eríc," she told the boys hotly.

"Really? What did he say?"

"He didn't know about the plan which means Cerian is beginning to doubt him."

"How were you talking to…" Wesley began and then hesistated.

"Eríc," Tia supplied.

"Yes, how were you talking to Eríc if you were asleep?" He finished. Tia sighed in exasperation.

"Haven't your time with me taught you anything? Telepathy of course," she answered, standing up, trying to ignore the pain shooting through her head, and together, the three left the room.

100 light years away, a man, slightly older than the Nebulan Thesarea, jerked awake. He looked down at the thick, leather bound book, he'd been using as a pillow. **Dragons and Demons: The Most Dangerous of Nebulan Creatures**, a slightly boring book on the creatures Nebulans could possibly use in an attack against Heoiul. He stood up in the empty room that was considered his office, though it was rather empty, with only a desk and a chair taking up space in the large, circular room. His footsteps echoed, ricocheting off the walls, as he strode towards the balcony. He gripped the iron bars that surrounded the tiny balcony till his knuckles turned pure white and his fingers slightly purple in frustration. Staring out at the setting sun that bathed the great courtyard below in pink and gold. The beauty of sunsets weren't lost on the Heoiulians and they treasured the very sight of one. The splattering of color across the sky had never failed to calm Eríc until then. Looking pale in the failing light, he made a resolution that he knew would probably mean his death.

"Tia," he whispered," I don't care what you say. Whether or not your plan works, I will not let you die, let alone kill you. Not until the sun refuses to rise again. That's a promise." And, do to an oath his ancestors once took, he knew he'd never be able to break that promise and that knowledge was a comfort.

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_This one's a bit more solemn than the others but I hope you still liked it. I really would love to hear your opinions of the story so far so please R&R! Constructive criticism is always welcome!_


	12. Chapter 12

_**Chapter 12**_

"Can you say suicide mission?" Misha said sarcastically.

"Suicide mission, and if you don't want to come then don't," Tia answered shortly, turning her back on Misha. She knew he would follow, he always did. In Hertesseea's "docking port" was a smaller Tyzian called Mayde. She was the Tyzian version of a scout/battle ship and was taking them deep into Heoiulian space to gauge the defense around Will and Aspen, bringing them back only if it was thin, though Tia had other ideas. She had just confided them in Misha, for what reason she didn't know.

"You want us to hand our selves over to the Heoiulians?" Misha asked as he jumped forward to catch up with Tia

"That's exactly what I want us to do."

"Why? Do you have a death wish?"

"No but we are responsible for Commander's kidnapping, however distantly, and therefore are responsible for bringing him back."

"What about Aspen?"

"She knows that the Commander is our first priority. She accepts that. You know that. And you must also know that no matter how hard we fight, the Heoiulians will kill Commander Riker and Aspen before we get close… Unless, of course, they have a reason to release them. Us."

"O.K and what about our planet? What about Nebula? You support most of the atmosphere and I support the sun. Our whole race will die out."

"First of all they aren't as selfish as you are. They swore to take that risk when they decided to stay on Nebula. Plus, there are warning signs and most people will have time to evacuate before anything happens. Remember last time."

"Last time you managed to support the atmosphere completely… And the sun and so you lived. We still don't know how you did that by the way. But there's no one to do that this time."

"There are still warning signs and you're in to far to back out. We just left Hertesseea." Misha looked franticly out of the nearest porthole and sure enough, Mayde was moving and Hertesseea was slowly shrinking away off the port bow. He swore in Nebulan and Tia threw him an amused look. "Glad you agree to participate Misha," and began laughing at the murderous look that had appeared on his face. "Now here's what we're gonna do," she started to whisper as she saw people walking down the corridors, faces grave. She realized how much graver they'd be if they found out what she and Misha were planning, if they found out that in a couple of days two of their leaders would be dead. Misha's face paled as she got to the end of the plan.

"No escape plan?"

"No, we're probably gonna end up dead. Deal with it."

"And you don't care?"

"I grew up on Heol 2, that's what I said every morning when I woke up," she said indifferently. They walked Mayde's bridge which was filled with Starfleet officers as well as Nebulan.

"Cëron," Tony yelled and the Nebulans jumped to their feet, bowing respectfully. Tia nodded and the crew sat down, much to the Starfleet officers' relief who had no idea how to react to the Thesarea/ensign.

"What's our status?" she asked.

"Till we reach Heoiul?" Tony asked.

"Duh!"

"Here comes the Heol sarcasms."

"Just answer me!"

"Two hours till we arrive at Heoiul."

"Good. I still have to come up with a plan," Tia said thoughtfully.

"You don't have plan?" Tony said in surprise, turning in his chair to face Tia.

"Of course she has a," Misha began but then choked as thick vines suddenly appeared and bound themselves tightly around his mouth. "Ummmmmmmm! Ummmmmmm!" he managed indignantly but Tia only smirked.

"O.K so what's the plan?" Tony asked, assuming that was what Misha had been on the verge of saying.

"I'll tell you when I feel like it," Tia responded indifferently, flicking a few of her many tiny braids out of her eyes.

"Well you better feel like it soon." Tia smiled and shook her head.

"Don't count on it," she said in amusement.

"What are you up to?"

"You'll find out soon enough," she answered and vanished.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Tony asked turning worriedly to Tora.

"I haven't a clue," she replied brows furrowed," but if it was anything good she would have told us.

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_O.K this chapter was a little harder to write. I've been having trouble with writers block lately. Sorry if this one's not as good when it comes to the actual writing part. I would love to hear any critique you have to offer so please review!_


	13. Chapter 13

_**Chapter 13**_

"So the metal stick goes straight through his head and he stands up and walks himself to a ambulance, well a 19th century ambulance, fills out a accident report and then tells a nurse what's wrong," Katya exclaimed as she read from the book in her hand.

"Doctor I have a… Headache," Kaborn said sarcastically.

"Ewwwwwwwwww look at that picture," Evie wined.

"Ya I'm not gonna read this anymore," Katya said disgustedly setting the book on the table.

**_"Arrival at Heoiul in one hour and thirty-seven minutes,"_ **echoed through the ship.

"Way to kill a moment Mayde," Cyro sighed.

**_"I'm required to report our progress."_**

"Every five minutes?"

**_"Would you prefer every ten?" _**

"How about every thirty?"

**_"As you wish." _**

"I like that," Kaborn said cheerfully.

"Don't get used to it," Evie sighed and Kaborn glared at her.

"Thanks Aspen," he shot back and then sat back sullenly as the others exchanged glances," Think she'll be alright?"

"Come off it," Cyro said fiercely," Tia's never let us down before, why should she start now?"

"Then why won't she tell anyone what she's up to?"

"That's a good point though Misha seems to be in on it," Katya observed.

"Speaking of Tia and Misha, where are they? Tia said she wanted to meet us here right?" Evie spoke up.

"I'm sure she did. I had to leave my post in the transporter…" Cyro began but trailed off, realization written across his face.

"She wouldn't."

"I know he wouldn't."

"Unless she made him…"

"Mayde shut down your transporters!" Katya cried as the four Nebulan leaders jumped to their feet.

**_"A transport is in progress," _**Mayde responded.

"Stop it!"

**_"It's too late." _**Cyro slammed his fists against a wall; Kaborn sank into a chair, his face hidden in his hands; and Katya and Evie took off running screaming for Tony. They managed to find him with Wesley three decks above.

"What's wrong?" he demanded as soon as he saw them. The girls collapsed breathlessly against the wall.

"T-t-t-tia… g-g-g-g-g-gone," Katya half panted and half cried.

"What!?"

"She and Misha, they're both gone. They've beamed out to somewhere. We're within beaming distance of Heoiul," Evie panted.

"She wouldn't," Wesley said shakily.

"She did. That must have been her plan, a switch off. They'll kill her!" Wesley and Tony pushed past the girls and ran down the hallway.

"Morcanna wser onlay!" Tony yelled and Mayde's walls turned orange-red. They sprinted along the corridor and Tony led Wesley through a door that had taken them from engineering to the Lopel (a restaurant) but that now led to the Bridge.

"Wait what?" Wesley said confusedly as he glanced around.

"Every door on a Tyzian leads where the user wants to go," Tony told him impatiently, preoccupied with the guilt of letting his sister out of his sight when she'd been acting so strange," It's some sort of special ability I have. It's dead useful. Tora to the bridge."

"Yes?" came a voice from behind them. Tora had come through the door that had just then led to the Lopel.

"Did you know what Tia was up to?" Tony demanded of her.

"What do you mean?" She asked in a mixture of confusion and worry.

"Exactly what I said. Did you know what Tia was up to?"

"Is something going on that I don't know about?"

"I'll take that as a no. Tia and Misha have handed themselves over to the Heoiul." Tora went pale.

"Sh-she… She…" Tora tried to speak but words failed her," Th-they'll, they'll…" She burst into tears.

"Oh Tora," Tony sighed and wrapped his arms around her.

"Th-they'll k-kill h-her," Tora sobbed into Tony's shoulder.

"They won't get the chance. She'll be alright," he promised.

"But where are they?" Wesley asked.

"Where ever Commander Riker and Aspen are," Tony said sadly. Wesley sunk down into the nearest chair and put his head in his hands.

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_Hi! Hope your enjoying the story so far! I'd love to hear any critique you have for me or if you have any ideas I'd love to hear those too. Please leave reviews! _


	14. Chapter 14

_**Chapter 14**_

Will opened his eyes slowly and struggled to see through piercing darkness. Suddenly he heard a quiet groan.

"Aspen?" he whispered.

"Yes?" she answered weakly.

"Are you alright?"

"No. Are you?"

"Yes. Why did you say no?"

"My head hurts," she complained.

"Do you know where we are?"

"Ummmm… I think a high security prison on Heoiul. Am I blind?"

"No. Not unless I am too."

"Where are you?" Aspen cried.

"You're a Thesarea. What's your special power?" Will asked urgently.

"Shape shifting. Most Nebulans can only turn into one animal, with a lot of practice. But I can turn into any animal. At least…"

"Turn into something that can see in the dark."

"What?"

"Something that uses echolocation… A bat!"

"What's a bat?"

"It's an Earth animal, a flying mammal that uses sound waves to see."

"Does it look like a bird?"

"Does it matter?"

"Not really." There was a brief silence.

"Aspen?"

_This is a strange animal_ echoed through his head.

"Come again?"

_This is a strange creature but its way of seeing is… interesting._

"So you're a bat."

_I think so. I see you!_

"I don't see you," Will said, straining his eyes against darkness. Suddenly he felt wings beating against his head," Alright, alright I feel you. Nock it off!"

_Sorry._

"It's O.K."

"Now what do we do?" Aspen asked as she turned back into herself.

"I don't have a plan yet."

"You're the adult."

"You're the world leader."

"I'm seven."

"Have you ever been in a holding cell like this?"

"Well yes. Once but Tony got me out that time so I have no ideas. I didn't get a government position for experience you know."

"How did he get you out?"

"Talk."

"Hello?" some one asked in the darkness," Misha?"

"We live!" some one else cheered," No help from you I might add."

"Very funny."

"Well do you have a plan?"

"Yep! We die while Commander Riker and Aspen are returned. Katya can take over my position and so on."

"Great plan… What's plan B?"

"There is no plan B."

"Well that's not good because we're still here," Will said.

"Not for very long though. Adios!" Tia said amusedly. And sure enough the room, for Commander Riker and Aspen, dissolved in a shower of sparks to be replaced by the bridge of the Nebulan Bridge. Will collapsed dizzily to the floor.

"You would think they'd realize that their transporters aren't meant for humans," he heard an irritable voice say as he lost consciousness.

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_Please review!_


	15. Chapter 15

_**Chapter 15**_

"Well now what do we do?" Misha asked glumly into the darkness.

"Well first we need light," Tia said and Misha, catching the indirect order, conjured up a ball of fire," Good now we have to find out how big this place is."

"Why does it matter?"

"Who spent 9 years of their life on Heol 2?"

"You," Misha admitted grudgingly.

"Therefore, who knows more than you about breaking out of prison cells?"

"You."

"And who should shut up right about now?"

"You."

"Haha, very funny. Now start looking for a damned wall. You go left; I'll go right and just run your hands along the walls until you come across anything that could be an entrance or exit. It's time we know what we're dealing with."

"Hello?" some one whispered.

"Eríc?" Tia demanded.

"Yes, I have a message from your brother."

"I don't care! Get out of here before you're caught! I can't believe this! Didn't I tell you to stay away until the execution tomorrow!?"

"That's what the message is about."

"Oh. In that case spit it out and then get out of here!"

"He says that they'll be there tomorrow."

"Who'll be where tomorrow?" Misha asked.

"I don't know. I just came to relay the message. He was about to say something else but I heard some one coming down the hallway and cut the transmission. Like now for instance, good-bye."

"Wait! Let us out first..." Misha called," Oh what the hell am I sayin'. He's gone. Now what?"

"We wait."

"You mean we aren't going to even going to try to get out?'

"Nope. Tony says he'll be there tomorrow so he'll be here."

"And if he isn't?"

"We die."

"What a pleasant thought."

"Isn't it though?" Tia laughed. Misha had to admit, Tia was significantly tougher than she'd been the last time he'd seen her in person, which had been before her time on Heol 2. He began, not for the first one, to doubt the trustworthiness of humanoids. How could one race turn the sensitive, if wild, Tia into a carefree, wild, sarcastic... O.k., so she was pretty much the same. Even so she had a more joking attitude to death than she'd had before. He'd seen other Nebulans adapt the same attitude to death when they'd seen too much of it. How could they trust a race that could kill each other, with out hesitation, when things didn't go their way? Such an act was rare on Nebula. There hadn't been a murder case on Nebula, or any of the planets colonized by Nebulans, for nearly a century, and just the thought was frightening. Killing for no reason... Misha shivered and tried to force his mind to other subjects... Like how close Tia was to him. He could feel the body heat radiating off her, and whenever he moved his hand he would encounter her glossy hair, lying loose on the ground. Trying to control his mind, knowing Tia's famous talent with mind reading, he struggled to start a steady conversation.

"What's with that Starfleet captain... Err... Captain Pakardo?" Misha asked suddenly.

"Captain Picard, and what about him?"

"What's with the seriousness act? Is he always like that?"

"No, not always. Of course I've only spoke to him when on duty, but when he's with his friends he's more relaxed and easy going."

"He has friends?"

"Of course. I don't think he exactly loves me as a part of his crew. None of the senior officers, except for Data, who really like me I think. They all think I'm a bit to wild."

"Really," Misha said, obviously fawning interest," And what would make them think that?"

"Well some one's full of jokes today," Tia responded teasingly, lightly punching him in the arm, and smiling through the darkness. They fell into a sort of awkward silence and Misha slid silently away from Tia, remembering Wesley. The silence stretched on and on as Misha searched desperately for something to say.

"Tia?" he said quietly but there was no answer. "Tia?" he repeated before he realized that Tia's breathing had deepened. She'd fallen asleep. He smiled slightly, Tia had to be the one person on death row who could possibly sleep at all.

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_Sorry this chapter took so long to get out. With all my projects and everything I've been all written out. I'll try to get the next one out sooner. Oh ya, please leave reviews._


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Wesley watched as Commander Riker's unconscious form was transported onto the _Enterprise_. The Nebulans had assured the Federation officers that the Heoiul's transporters would not cause any lasting damage to Will but that he would need painkillers to treat the headache he would most likely wake up with. Wesley then sunk back into a chair, exhausted.

"So what are we going to do about Tia and Misha? Eric says that they will be executed tomorrow. What are we going to do to stop it?" He asked, looking up at Tony. Tony remained silent. He had no plan so far.

"Well…" He said slowly," we have to find some way to get into the execution. We can't do anything if we're not there…" He trailed off as his eyes brightened and he actually grinned. Wesley simply stared up at him in bewilderment. "Alright. We need to get the shields around Heoiul down without them noticing. Tora, you know how to hack into systems, see if you can get into theirs. Cyro, I want a cloaked elite fleet here by tonight. Make sure it's the elite fleet. They've learned to detect the other ships, cloaked or not. They can't do a warp jump, that's too obvious. They're the elite fleet for a reason, tell them to get here without it." Cyro opened his mouth to protest that the feat was impossible but the fierce look on Tony's face silenced him. He nodded and left the bridge. "Now, as for the rest of us, we're going to turn ourselves into Heoillians." He turned to Captain Picard. "You can choose anyone of your officers that you would like to include in out landing crew. Although, I would leave Commander Riker up here if I were you. I don't think he'll be up to anything big by tomorrow. Now, Cyro, Katya, Evie, and Kaborn, go down to sickbay and start. I'll join you there in a minute with Tora and… Whoever else I can get a hold of. I want at least forty people going down with us. Oh, and have the elite crew bring that captured Heoillian ship. We'll need it. Has some one fixed the transporters on that ship to transport humans?"

"Yes," Tora said, coming back onto the bridge. "And now their shields are down."

"Good. Now, all of you go." They nodded. What seemed to be the almost entire bridge crew stood and headed for the door that now lead to sickbay.

"How does it do that?" Wesley wondered aloud, under his breath. He followed the Nebulans through the door. There were already about ten people in sickbay, transformed to an exact likeness of the Heoillians. He constantly had to remind himself that they were not, in fact, the enemy. The four Thesareas were already in the process of being transformed. They seemed to be having some sort of trouble changing the color of Cyro's eyes. They had changed to the deep violet that represented Aspen's position.

"Can you see anything?" the young girl who was treating him asked, trying to keep herself from dissolving into giggles.

"I can see a whole lot of purple!" Cyro said through gritted teeth, obviously annoyed. "Kara whatever you did, fix it!"

"I'm trying, I'm trying!" she said, her voice breaking. She broke off into a fit of giggles.

"Kara!" 

"H-hold on. H-h-hold on," she said through her giggles. "I just have to figure out why your eyes are purple and not green." Katya's eyes were already green along with Evie's. Kaborn was completely transformed and was reclining against the wall, watching the rest. More and more people came into the room and in a matter of seconds were transformed, before the Federation officers' eyes, into a perfect replica of a Heoillian. All except for Cyro whose eyes were now a deep midnight blue.

"Ok, what the heck is wrong? Now all I see is blue!" he exclaimed angrily. Other doctors walked over and stared at his eyes bewilderedly.

"I just don't get it," Wesley heard one of the doctors say as he sat down on one of the tables and waited for a doctor to get to him. A girl no older than the one struggling with Cyro came over to him. She was brunette and extremely attractive with olive toned skin and deep green eyes.

"You're one of the Federation officers who are going on the mission right?" she asked as she stared into his eyes, trying to gauge how much they were going to have to change his eye color to get it to the shade of the Heoillians.

"Yeah."

"Just out of curiosity, why are you going? They're our leaders, not yours. Why do you bother?"

"Well first of all, we want to help you. You helped us, now we're returning the favor. And secondly, Tia's my girlfriend," he replied. To his surprise, the girl's face fell slightly.

"Oh," was all she said and she sounded slightly disappointed. Then she seemed to perk up again. "Alright then. Well your eyes are blue so they're going to be a little harder to change. Not to hard, it'll just take a few extra minutes. She held up some sort of hand held machine that vaguely resembled a tricorder so it was in line with his eyes. Everything seemed to go black. He looked around franticly for light. "Hold still. Hold still," she chastened. "They're already changing. You'll mess it up and end up with…" she turned around to look at Cyro. "Red eyes like Cyro. You'll be able to see again when I'm done. There we go. Your eyes are a good pure green now."

"I still can't see though," Wesley said, looking around blindly.

"Give it a few minutes. Your eyes are still getting used to the change. It'll take you a few more minutes to adjust than it takes us. I'll be right back. Cyro's eyes are yellow and no one can get them to change to anything else. Sit still for a minute and don't try to move until your eyesight is completely back. You'll end up tripping over something. Trust me." She left to help the others with Cyro's eyes and he heard her voice join the voices of the confused doctors crowding around Cyro. A few minutes passed and Wesley began to see shades of gray rather than pure black. Gradually, the room got lighter, and lighter. Cheering broke out and Wesley knew that Cyro's eyes were now green. Finally, Wesley felt he could see enough to walk around. He stood, took a step… and tripped. The girl who had been transforming him caught him, laughing. "I told you not to try to walk yet. Come on." She led him back over to the bed. It was a few more minutes until Wesley was able to see again.

The rest of the transformation took only a couple of minutes and Wesley joined the group of tall, pointy eared, "Heoillians". The group grew until there were about 50 men and women standing around and chatting. Tony walked in, as fully transformed as the others. He looked over the group and smiled.

"We leave at 0200. There is a briefing at 2400 hours. Go get some sleep," he told the group. They filed out and headed to their separate sleeping quarters, now silent.

_Well I totally and completely forgot about this story. Sorry people. It's been months but I'm going to try to post more often. Sorry about any grammar mistakes, I was watching a movie at the same time as this. Please review. :D_


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